The classic opera 'The Red Guards on Honghu Lake' was completed in 1958. In October 1959, Hubei Province staged the opera in Beijing for the first time as a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The performance was a huge success, and the opera has since become a treasure of China's national operas. After it was adapted into a film, it became a household name all around China.
'Red Guards on Honghu Lake' tells the story of the red guards in Mianyang of Hubei Province, led by township Party secretary Han Ying and Captain Liu Chuang, defending their homeland and carrying out arduous fight against the enemy in 1930, showing the resolute revolutionary belief of the communists and their close relationship with the people. Famous songs from the opera, includingWaves after Waves in Honghu Lake,No Tears, No Sorrow, andWait and See the Liberation of All Suffering People, have become the collective memory of the Chinese people in the past half century.
As China's national performing arts center, the NCPA has the duty to carry forward and promote classic Chinese works. After two years of discussion, the NCPA has collaborated with Hubei Provincial Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, who is the holder of the copyright of 'The Red Guards on Honghu Lake'. A top-notch production team in China including the renowned director Zhang Jigang, the creator of the dance Thousand-handed Bodhisattva and one of the key figures in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympiad, is invited to re-stage this classic work. They has been striving to bring new life to this classic in the modern era and let it continue to move and touch today's audiences.
This production upholds an attitude of carrying forward and promoting this classic work. Based on preserving the sentiments of the original music, Dong Yuexian, who is in charge of music creation and arrangement in this production, gives delicate touch and modification to the music, making it more suitable for operatic and musical presentation and more appealing to the modern audiences, particularly the young ones. Gao Guangjian, stage designer, brings the classic scene of the vastness of Honghu Lake and the expansive lotus field onto the stage through romantic design and magnificent multi-media visual effects, perfectly combining the virtually real scenes with the beautiful melody.
The NCPA's production of 'The Red Guards on Honghu Lake' is dedicated to the 18th CPC National Congress. It will be staged during the National Day Holidays this year. This feast of classic national opera will take the audiences back to that extraordinary time and reignite the passion in them.
Venue: Opera House of the NCPA
Dates: Oct. 1 - 7, 2013
Duration: approximate 150 mins (intermission included)
Price: VIP/680/600/550/380/280/100 RMB
Tel: +86 10 6655 0000
Add: No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing
